1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to three-dimensional (3D) applications, and in particular, to a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for a producing a sun/shadow simulation while directly controlling sun/shadow settings for the time of day and day of year.
2. Description of the Related Art
Geographic information systems (GIS) are commonly used and generally refer to an information system that integrates hardware, software and data in order to capture, store, analyze, manage, and display/present data that is spatially referenced (i.e., linked to location or is geographically referenced). GIS systems commonly provide a two dimensional (2D) visualization of data in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts. However, prior art GIS systems fail to provide the capability to merge GIS data with additional information in order to visualize, analyze, and simulate trends, phenomena, states, and events. Further, three-dimensional (3D) systems also fail to provide such capabilities.
In addition, prior art systems fail to provide the ability for a user to easily visualize how the sun and shadow produced by objects in a 3D environment. Prior art systems further fail to provide the ability to directly control the sun/shadow settings for time of day and day of year in such a visualization.